Nothing makes sense.
Jackie Wilkes glances at me when I don’t move. “Are you coming, Miss Blackthorn? You’ll want to see this. It won’t disappoint.”
There’s a firmness to her tone that tells me it’s not a question.
“Sure, sure. I’m coming.”
“Good. Shall we?”
Even Holden, who looks like he’s brought small countries to their knees, nods. There’s a hard edge in his face I can’t decipher.
“Fine,” he mutters. “Let’s get this over with.”
2
ONE MAN’S TRASH (HOLDEN)
The vault under the basement is damn near nuclear grade.
I should know, since I helped hire the crew who did the big renovation the old man wanted years ago. When the lawyer said we were heading downstairs to see this big secret, I knew exactly where.
Leonidas didn’t spare a dollar securing his most priceless possessions, even if I didn’t know what half of them were.
Miss Wilkes goes first, stepping up to the keypad and punching in the code, then leading us through a pair of thick steel doors that automatically slide shut behind us.
Warm lights flicker on as we approach, revealing the earthy, almost Egyptian walls. The place feels like a cave that’s been retrofitted with state-of-the-art security tech.
The place has more bells and whistles than some private banks. Over the years, I’ve checked the systems more times than I can count, going over the access logs, working the cameras, ensuring his very expensive bunker did what he paid for.
Not once did I ask what was shut behind the locked doors.
That was never my business. The old man had his boundaries, and I had mine.
That’s how it’s always been, and I didn’t mind it one bit considering what he paid me. Yeah, we had a good working relationship, but we never forgot who’s boss.
So I left him to his secrets.
I did my job, securing his properties, and making sure no one unauthorized ever stepped foot inside this vault.
Back when he was alive, I never wondered that much. He was rich enough to have earned his secrets. I had my own to deal with, too.
Now, though, I feel the first flicker of wonder.
What did he really go to all this trouble for?
I’ve heard the rumors that dropped since his death. A whole lot of family drama, mostly, with wild betrayals and schemes from the Great Beyond to keep his grandkids happy. Trying to right the wrongs with his estranged daughter, which ate at his soul until the day he died.
Don’t know how much I believe. Never been my place to judge.
In the end, rich folks are like anyone else with their family dealings, and sometimes they get awfully complicated.
I got paid to execute, to protect, and that’s where my part ended.
At least, that’s where it did while he was breathing.
After Leonidas, I thought I’d get a polite pink slip and a generous severance in a matter of weeks.
Only, his estate turned out to be damned complicated. His lawyer kept me on the same impressive salary after his death. Easy work, just walking these halls and occasionally popping into his other properties to help the local managers until they could get sorted with the family or sold.
